CONCACAF Champions League play-offs

The CONCACAF Champions League has reached the round of 16, and tonight the team from El Salvador, Santa Tecla, was hoping to make an upset against the MLS side Seattle Sounders after winning 2-1 in El Salvador. After a good first half, the Salvadoreans fell apart deep into the second half, and lost 4-0.
Very disappointing but at the same time it was a good show against an MLS side which, as all MLS sides, think they are much better than they are...
Seattle Sounders will face Chivas Guadalajara in the quarterfinals. Chivas are in a deep crisis in the Mexican League; they are unlikely to make the play-offs and in reality Champions League are their only hope for a title. While this could be the time for Sounders to be facing a Chivas side in crisis, one has to consider the absolute dominance by Mexican teams in the CONCACAF Champions League: of the four Mexican sides participating, all have made it to the quarterfinals. Since the tournament was introduced in 2008, it has been won by Mexican sides every single year. In fact, in all but two years (2010 and 2015) the final has been between Mexican sides. In 2016, all four semi-finalists were Mexican sides. This just illustrates that the Mexican League remains far superior to any league in the CONCACAF region, including the MLS, and when MLS sides compare themselves to other sides, they should look to smaller leagues than the Mexican, which is certainly the much stronger than the MLS.
The coming quarterfinals of the tournament will see the following clashes:

• Club America-Tauro
• Toronto FC-Tigres UANL
• Tijuana-New York Red Bulls
• Seattle Sounders-Guadalajara

I hope particularly Tigres UANL through, after the fantastic final I watched them play in December last year. I also hope Chivas destroy Seattle, avenging Santa Tecla, and saving their poor season.

Glory, drama and... poor sportsmanship

After a 1-2 victory away Internacional from Porto Alegre had it all to take the 2010 Copa Libertadores title at home to "Chivas" Guadalajara from Mexico.
It all started quite ugly, as both teams showed poor sportsmanship and little respect during the national anthem, but it was a well-played and dramatic match amid the clear dislike between the two sides.
Guadalajara levelled the match at the end of the first half with a splendid half-bycicle kick by Marco Fabian. But into the second half the Brazilian pressure bore fruit, although with poor defending by the Mexicans: Rafael Sobis got a toe on a ball in front of the Mexican goallie to equalize, while Leandro brought the Brazilians ahead after conquering the ball in midfield. Towards the end of the match the Mexicans got more desperate, and Omar Arellano got a well-deserved red card. Soon afertwards the young Giuliano scored a beautiful goal, getting in between two defenders and putting the ball over the Mexican goalkeeper.
In the last seconds Chivas got a consolation by De Luna, but it was too late. Internacional took their second Copa Libertadores title in their history (the first being in 2006).

It ended in shameful aggression between the two team's players though, and that is truly a pity when players of two of the greatest footballing countries, playing in one of the most important competitions in the world, with the entire world looking at them, decide that they have to be remembered as thugs, instead of the great football match they gave us.
They are all idiots.

Football and swine flu

The panic that is gripping the world as we face a global swine-flu pandemic has hit football! (I guess we cannot remain an island from the rest of society, as much as all football fans would love to).
In a match in the Copa Libertadores between the Mexican side Chivas and the Chilean side Everton, a Mexican player snotted and spit on on a Chilean player, while saying he would pass him the swine-flu (check it out: http://www.marca.com/2009/05/01/futbol/futbol_internacional/1241159445.html - it is really disgusting)

Don't you just miss the days when players would just get into a good old fight...?